Changing Web

eHub follows changes happening on the web and lists applications, services etc

Nutty Wal-Mart

First Wal-Mart places ads in Vogue Magazine now the are considering buying clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger. Don't these people get it, you can't pretend to be something you're not. Wal-mart has staked the position of low cost crap and wants to associate itself with a high-end apparel company. This pairing would definitely make these two the odd couple and a really bad decision for both brands.

iPod Compatible Reading

Read RSS feeds on your iPod.

Organic Search Yields Healthier ROI

"35% of marketers recently surveyed said that organic search optimization efforts led to higher ROI than paid search campaigns, according to a new study by iProspect, a respected authority on search marketing and a WebTrends Insight Network partner. Compare this to only 11% that said paid search produced better results. " WebTrends newsletter Sept 2005

Tune into blogs

"Technology has given consumers an option to tune businesses out, and tune each other in," said Chris Charron, a Forrester vice president, in a statement. "On the flip side, technology has given businesses an opportunity to gain greater customer insights at a lower cost," by monitoring blogs and Web sites and message boards "to uncover consumer insight and accelerate the innovation of products, services, and design," he said. read

38% of Ontario teachers bullied

What is the purpose of spending money to report that 38% of Ontario teachers are bullied. I'm hoping the point is to solve the problem possibly. This report was done by The Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation. These are the same teachers who spend more time on strike than teaching. To me it appears that this report becomes another bargaining tool to justify pay increases. Their position will be that the job is difficult and stressful requiring more compensation.

I was schooled here in Ontario and I would agree with the report having seen it first hand, the percentage seems a little high to me (skew the numbers in their favor). But there is another side of the story which isn't being told since students can't commission a report for themselves. I would say that there is an equal amount of bullying done by teachers also. I remember a few who unleashed verbal attacks at students and tried to teach by keeping everyone in fear. Students aren't all angels nor are teachers all angels, hope someone gets the story right.

The real story would be how the majority of Ontario teachers really don't teach, that's the real truth.

iPod Nano Scratches

The screen on the new iPod Nano scratches easily making viewing impossible read

Katrina and Rita

Why is it that they name storms, hurricanes and the worst possible that nature can unleash after women? From my life experiences where aunts have caused so much war and disputes within the family it's very fitting. If your a woman you won't like my comments but I can only make this based on my real life experiences.

War of Compassion and Love with Ice Cream

Saatchi & Saatchi CEO Kevin Roberts thinks they should call the war on terror "the Fight for a Better World.” more

link via BrandNoise

Google Search Techniques

How to search Google

Functional Psychopaths

You want to make money in the stock market? You need a special trait referred to as functional psychopath.

Rexall Pharmacy tv ads

The commercial goes like this, a chicken has some bandages on it and another time a blender is mixing while being given its medicine. The announcer asks in a monotone voice do you buy healthcare products at the same place you buy groceries/appliances and finishes off with “we focus on healthcare.” How do they exactly do that?

So here are the problems with this campaign. They first concede defeat by telling us the problem they are having with people buying products at grocery stores and Walmarts instead of the dedicated pharmacy. They are trying to convince people that there is something wrong with that or it’s not right. Go and change the normal habit of millions of people by telling them it’s wrong, absurd. The retailer who values people’s time and provides convenience will be rewarded greatly. Have these people looked at the price of gasoline. Why would you want to drive to a pharmacy after going grocery shopping to waste gas and time. The ad gives no compelling reason why people should come to the pharmacy. Secondly in my opinion they shot themselves in the foot with this campaign by ruling out the future possibility of offering food products. At the end of the commercial they display a bunch of brand names this company operates under from IDA, Pharma Plus, etc., very confusing. When I started to write this I saw the commercial again and had it wrong about what name they focused on, I didn’t remember the names.

My strategy would be as follows, focus on the “Plus” and operate under the Pharma Plus name. The plus could be food products which are good for your health (appear to be healthier). At one time pharmacies had soda fountains for the medicinal properties. One Canadian drug store recently had signs up stating it now sold milk. I would be selling soy milk and organic milk.. More yogurts and sugar-free beverages. Frozen dinners which are low in fat ,salt and calories, frozen pizza with whole wheat crusts. With diabetes a big problem I would be selling gluten free products and capitalize on this area. I wonder if they sell pomegranate juice, I doubt it. There are so many good products out there for your health, use this to draw people. If they really focused on healthcare they would be going in this direction since their present one is obviously failing, they already told us.

Was the money spent on this campaign useful? They would have better luck throwing it out the window and hope someone in need would run across it and possibly benefit. This campaign is a complete waste of money. If this company was a stock I would give it a “junk bond” rating.

My name in Headline

What are the odds of having your full name show up in the headline of a major newspaper. The Globe and Mail has decided to do that just for me. check it out

Web-based RSS readers

Check these readers out. Netvibes looks really good the other two are familiar ones.

Netvibes
Microsoft's Start
Google

via Lifehacker

For 2400 years

"For 2400 years, brown bread was seen as food for the poor; white bread for quality folks. Not until the Industrial Revolution did white flour become affordable to the masses."
"The Romans preferred white bread, four hundred years earlier, Socrates declared whole wheat pig food."

Would you admit it takes some time for ideas to change. What present ideas can be compared to brown bread? I would say right brained individuals come close to being brown bread. These recent articles in Business Week show how the change is happening:

Get Creative!
Creativity that goes deep

I don't work here

So I'm at the pharmacy tonight and some guy comes up to me and asks if we have bath soap? I'm speechless for a few seconds trying to avoid saying I don't work here, but try to direct him to some aisle. This hasn't happened a million times to me but it does happen and I wonder how often it happens to others. Once I was putting away some jeans I had tried on and some lady comes over and asks about where a certain sized pant was. She told me that it looked like I knew what I was doing that's why she thought I worked there. Tomorrow I'm going to try to pretend to be a millionaire who walks around the house in his robe, I'm hoping a bunch of confused playboy bunnies show up.

Gillette's 5-blade razor

When I heard about 3 blades I said this is stupid, when I heard about Schick's Quattro I thought how nuts, now I really don't know what to say about 5 blades...why not 10 blades. read
I also heard that one of the car manufacturers is coming out with a five wheeled car :)

Living Too Much in the Bubble?

"A bungled initial response to Katrina exposed the perils of a rigid, insular White House. Inside Bush's plan to show he isn't isolated" read

Hurricane Truth

"Habitat for Humanity International is launching Operation Home Delivery, a three-phase response to help provide assistance and rebuilding opportunities in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina." read

Katrina only exposed what has always been a problem but has been swept under the carpet until now. How many Americans really realized the extent of poverty in the US. I bet those images being sent around the world shocked many. Katrina has shown us so many things, how one of the richest nations in the world has some of the poorest people in the world. Capitalism doesn't work by helping poor people. How a super power was unable to act when tragedy struck, lack of communication and organization you might expect at an elementary school play. How the shit in the septic tank floats to the top by padding your resume and having the right friends, Michael Brown. This hurricane exposed so much. It exposed those whose offered their homes to strangers, offering them jobs and a chance to start over. It exposed the hearts that at times can seem absent in this world. Katrina exposed the truth, Hurricane Truth.

Gas Line Up

It was a strange sight like viewing a clip about oil shortages in some war ridden place but it was down the street from where I live. Gas prices came down a little today and everyone who had been holding off to fill up did tonight. I've never seen so many cars line up for gas. More good news today, Enbridge the local supplier of gas has applied for a 15% increase for natural gas. If I remember correctly next year electricity pricing will be based on market value in Ontario. In my building there were 4 postings for parking spots for rent where you usually never find any.

This will have an effect and is already on many industries. Movie attendance is in decline but the viewing of dvd will probably rise further. Maybe Faith Popcorn's cocooning idea with finally really materialize.

Big Hearts for Big Easy

I took a look at craigslist's New Orleans postings and families are offering there homes to victims, sample of one posting:

We are a family with 2 small children. WE live in Fairview, NC, just outside of Asheville. We are in the downstairs unit of a triplex with 1500 sq ft of space to share. We are offering our spare bedroom for 2 orphaned younger children, or a single mother with 1-2 children. The only beds we have are a twin, a cradle, and a crib. WE have 2 dogs so, no pets are allowed. We are a drug free, smoke free, and alcohol free home. WE arent rich, but we want to help. Our home is clean and open to help someone heal.

US poverty rate continues to rise

There were 37 million people living in poverty in 2004, up 12.7% from the previous year. read
Rising oil prices, home prices, hurricanes and more are all taking their toll. Over a year ago the owner of the company I worked for asked the staff why people weren't buying. At this point gas prices were no where the level they have risen to today. Others in the same business were also asking the same question. At that time here in the province of Ontario the government had decided to slap a health care tax on each working individual. The amount would be about 300 dollars a year off your pay check. Gas had risen slightly also and any one with a home had seen an increase in their property taxes. I estimate about 1000 dollars less in your pocket. When large companies begin to ask the same questions as to why people aren't buying possibly someone will start to care. The gap between rich and poor is increasing greatly. Just to let you know there are about 36 million people living in Canada, about the same number of people living in poverty in the US.

Trapped in New Orleans

People who are trapped have been posting at nola, I hope someone is reading this stuff.